One Enchanted Evening
by Tom Peaches
Summary: Troy discovers a surprising fact about himself, and about Ryan. TRYAN. Loosely based on autobiographical events. Most changes made due to characters
1. Chapter 1

Ping

_Ping. Ping Ping. _

Troy Bolton sat, listening to the loud ping of Ms. Darbus' piano. Though he heard the sound, his brain wouldn't quite let him register what he was hearing.

_Ping. Ping. Ping. _

"Mr. Bolton!"

Troy sprang up at the sound of Ms. Darbus' stern shout.

"Yes, Ms. Darbus?"

"That's an _E_ Bolton!" She directed, plucking the note once again.

"Right," Troy said, lifting his vocal pitch to match that of the piano. Though it was his third musical production at East High, Troy still was somewhat clueless on what Ms. Darbus meant when she bellowed what notes to sing.

"Alright! Seeing as some of us obviously haven't been practicing our music on our own time, we shall be splitting up for the rest of the practice," Ms. Darbus said, highly annoyed.

'_Great,' _Troy thought, '_now I'm going to be even MORE lost because I'll have to work with Sharpay.' _

Troy and Sharpay shared what was considered the most important song in the entire show, and because of this, Ms. Darbus always had them working together whenever she could. Sharpay was more than happy to work along with Troy, and every time they did she made more than obvious advances on him. He diverted her as much as he possibly could. They rarely accomplished anything.

It had been a while since he and Gabriella had broken up, and Troy had gone through a lot emotionally since then. They were on excellent terms, always hanging out and working together on school projects. It was not his relationship with Gabriella that troubled him, however, but more his want of a relationship in general.

He noticed that, while many girls around school obviously flirted with him, he felt little to no attraction towards any of them. Why was this?

He quickly regained his train of thought at Ms. Darbus' next words.

"Bolton and Evans!" She pointed.

'_No surprise there.' _He thought, until he noticed where she was pointing. He followed the direction of her finger and saw she was not pointing at Sharpay, but at Ryan.

Troy's heart leapt. Though it was true that he and Ryan shared only a small song, and it was not one of Troy's favorites, he felt oddly enthralled at the prospect of working with Ryan. Everyone got up and went with their respective song members. He caught a glimpse of Gabriella and Kelsey heading off with Sharpay, both looking miserable. He wanted to feel bad for them, but was too busy feeling excited for himself. Ryan rose from his chair and approached Troy.

"Hey!" Troy smiled, nodding.

"Hi!" Ryan said, grinning, "So, you wanna find a practice room?"

"Yeah!" Troy replied, heading towards the far side of the stage. They reached a row of wooden doors, and Troy opened the one furthest to the right. He opened the door to find a small, soundproof room with a piano and piano bench inside. He held the door for Ryan and followed him in.

"So, I hate to say it, but I really don't like this song very much," Ryan admitted, placing his libretto on the music stand and sitting down on the bench.

"Yeah, me either, but we'll make it awesome!" Troy added, sitting next to Ryan on the bench. Ryan grinned.

They ran through the song, trying their best to make the poorly written harmonies blend nicely. Eventually, they found themselves singing a song that could only be described as soothing.

"That sounds so good!" Troy said, his eyes lighting up.

"Yeah, it really does!" Ryan agreed. They both stood up from the bench, looking down to make sure their knees didn't hit the piano. When they looked up, their faces were mere inches apart. After a moment of silence, Troy turned around and opened the door.

They exited the practice room to see that they were the only ones left in the auditorium. The lights had been turned off, and practice had ended an hour ago.

"Wow," Ryan said, his eyes widening, "We totally lost track of the time. I guess time flies when one's having fun." He shot a warm look at Troy, and then left the dark room.

Troy stood their motionless for about five minutes. What had just happened? Nothing. Or was it? He enjoyed the last three or so hours practicing with Ryan more than he had ever had practicing with anyone else for anything, including basketball.

His mind kept jumping to the moment where he and Ryan's faces were so close. It made a chill go down his spine. What did this mean? Was he not attracted to any girl who liked him, but attracted to Ryan, a guy? The thought consumed him. Was he gay? Was he bi? He wasn't sure.

But one thing was for sure, he left practice that day smiling.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks A/N: Thanks for the comments

Thanks A/N: Thanks for the comments! I'm glad this story is being enjoyed! This is where the story really becomes true to life for me, and I hope it doesn't disappoint!

School went by unusually slowly the next day. Troy sat through each class with a glaze-eyed stare, just waiting for school to be over so he could go to rehearsal. Would it be nearly as fun as yesterday? He certainly hoped so!

It helped that he had Drama class 4th period, a nice break in the middle of the day. He sat down in his usual seat, only this time he realized that he had been sitting next to Ryan for the whole year, and only just noticed now.

"Hey!" Troy said, turning towards Ryan.

"Hey!" Ryan said, looking up from the magazine he was reading, "How's your day been?"

"Boring, as usual," Troy laughed, "how about yours?"

"The same," Ryan softly replied, nearly yawning at the thought.

"So, I thought practice went really well yesterday!" Troy began, giving a sweet smile towards Ryan.

"Yeah! I thought so too!" Ryan said, his eyes suddenly lighting up with interest, "We should sing together more often!"

The two shared a moment of happy agreement.

"Good morning children!" Ms. Darbus started, being fully aware that it was nearly noon, "Today, we shall explore the works of Christopher Durang and his amusing one acts!"

Ms. Darbus began to write broadly on the chalkboard, but Troy could not pay attention to her, for his mind constantly wandered towards Ryan. He didn't even notice.

The rest of the day after Drama class went just as it had before, long and slow. He sat through both Spanish and English classes barely conscious.

It wasn't until he visited his locker before his final period of the day that his attentiveness was brought back to him. He was searching for his Geometry book when he heard a voice from behind him.

"Hey Troy!"

Troy turned on the spot to see Ryan coming towards him.

"Hey Ryan! What's up?" Troy asked enthusiastically.

"Hey," he began almost timidly "I didn't know if you were doing anything this weekend, but I know Northside is doing their production of Le Mis, and I wondered if you'd be interested in going on Saturday? I know Le Mis is one of your favorites."

"Yeah! Absolutely! That'd be fun!" Troy replied, trying his best not to sound as excited as he was.

"Great! I'll meet you there then?" Ryan asked.

"Sure!" Troy said, his excitement growing.

"Cool, tickets are $6," Ryan said giving Troy a big smile as he hurried towards his last class.

Troy stood stunned momentarily, until he realized he had thirty seconds to get to his next class.

'_Did Ryan Evans technically just ask me on a date?' _

The thought ran through Troy's head all his last period. Was he reading too far into it? Was Ryan just plainly asking for lack of anyone else to go? Or, did he really feel the same way about Troy that Troy felt about him? The idea made Troy's heart leap. But was Troy actually into guys? Did he know that for sure? It seems so right to him, he must be.

Troy hurried to practice that day. And was met in the auditorium by a giggly Gabriella.

"Troy!" she exclaimed, "Come with me!"

She motioned to him, and he followed her into the closest dressing room. She opened the door for him and then followed him in.

"I know someone who has a crush on you!" she giggled in a sing-song manner, shutting the door behind him.

_Oh great, _Troy thought, _I wonder who it is this time? Sharpay? Kelsey? Martha? _

"Who?" he asked in a nearly bored tone.

"Ryan Evans."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm so glad this story has some fans! I really appreciate you!

Troy stood stunned on the spot, attempting with all his might to comprehend what Gabriella had just said while showing as little expression as possible. He knew if he acted at all excited, then Gabriella would know for sure, and he didn't know if he was ready for that.

"Oh…." Troy lightly laughed, in an almost joking tone "That's funny." He lightly laughed again.

Gabriella joined in on his almost suppressed chuckling and left the practice room, hurrying back to Taylor and Martha.

The door closed, and a huge smile crept across his face. He could not have been happier.

He left the practice room and went to get his music. Once he had it, he began to read through his lines, only half paying attention due to his excitement at this thrilling news. After a few hours at practice, Troy went to leave.

On his way out, he ran into Zeke.

"Hey, Troy! What's up man?"

"Oh, not much Zeke, just really glad it's Friday!" Troy responded, giving the blandest answer he could think of.

"Boy do I know it!" Zeke said, "Oh, by the way, according to Sharpay, Ryan likes you."

There was an awkward pause.

"Oh really?" Troy replied.

"Yeah, she's been telling me a lot lately, like, just in general. So, uh…how do you feel about that?" Zeke asked.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked, his eyes giving a fake look of pondering.

"I mean, you know…. is that weird? I mean, if you're into it, that's okay, I just didn't know…"

"Oh, well…" Troy paused; Zeke was ready to accept it if he did like Ryan, now was the time to tell someone, "actually, yeah. I do."

Zeke gave a light grin and patted Troy on the back, "Cool, that's alright man, no worries."

"Really?" Troy questioned.

"Yeah, totally. Do whatever makes you happy, man. Good for you being true to you!" Zeke finished as he exited through the front doors.

Troy stood there for a moment, in awe of the fact that he had told one of his good friends, and nothing bad at all had happened! Troy went home that night and slept in excited bliss, awaiting what would for sure be an amazing Saturday night.

~ THE NEXT DAY~

Troy awoke to warm feeling of the sun shining through his bedroom window on that fine Saturday morning. He smiled to himself; he knew it was going to be a good day. He slowly got up and went downstairs to find something to eat.

The day went by in a slow but excited manner, as Troy's excitement grew for the show.

He got in his car and left at 6:15, as the show was at 7. He would certainly have no problem getting a ticket in time. It took him about 20 minutes to get to Northside High School, where he parked in the very full parking lot.

He entered the school doors, and was shocked to see a very packed lobby, with a line for tickets circling the entire room. He did not see Ryan, he must have already gotten his tickets and sat down.

_Damn, _Troy thought, _Now there's no way me and Ryan are gonna sit together!_

"Troy!"

Troy looked over to see Taylor and Martha calling to him. _All right, at least there are some people I know!_ Troy ran over to them in line.

"I'm glad I found you guys! I didn't know you'd be here!" Troy said to the two girls.

"Yeah, well we found out there was a show tonight, and figured why not?" Taylor replied.

Troy peered his head above the crowd, looking for Ryan.

"What're you doing?" Taylor asked.

"Oh, nothing," Troy said, leveling his head, "Just looking for someone."

"Ryan?" Taylor said, her eyes moving in an almost seductive manner.

Troy gave her a look of astonished confusion, "Yes…"

All three bought their tickets next to each other, and got to their seats. Their tickets were balcony seats. Martha was furthest to the right, then Taylor, and then Troy. There was an empty seat to Troy's left, which he eyed periodically.

The orchestra began to play, and thus started Troy's uneventful first act of "Le Miserables." He hoped he would find more enjoyment in the second act.

He had no idea.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm sorry it took so long! I'm glad you all are enjoying it!**

Troy sat in the darkness and watched the show. He kept looking at his program to see how far along they were, feeling as anxious as he'd ever felt. After what seemed like hours, the first act finally ended. The house lights came on and Troy briskly exited from the auditorium.

He entered the lobby and immediately saw Ryan facing away from him, looking out the door window. Troy approached him nervously, but with a determination in his soul. Ryan turned just as Troy reached him.

"Hey!" Ryan said, grabbing Troy's hand, "we need to talk."

Ryan and Troy went out the front doors to the outdoor catwalk.

"So," Ryan began, looking directly at Troy, "Do we need to sit down?"

"Sure," Troy said, and they sat along the edge of the cement walkway.

"So what's going on Troy?" Ryan asked, though he knew full well what was going on.

"Well," Troy began, looking off into the distance, not knowing what at all to say, "I don't really know how to say it, but I've heard from a few people that you like me."

Troy looked back to Ryan, who seemed relatively unsurprised.

"And…" Troy continued, "It's just….well…I mean….I really like you too. And…I just don't know what to do."

A warm smile spread over Ryan's face.

"Don't worry Troy," he began, " I went through the same thing a while ago. I didn't know how to approach it, and I was scared. But, eventually, I just came out and said I was gay. And, honestly, I have more friends NOW than I did before. It's really nothing to be afraid of."

Troy looked back at Ryan and matched his smile. Ryan reached his arm around Troy and they embraced. Troy noted to himself how good Ryan smelled.

"So," Troy remembered, "where are you sitting?"

"Behind these annoying girls who won't stop talking, and this baby who keeps crying. So aggravating," Ryan groaned.

"Well, I'm with some people at the front of the balcony, and there's an empty seat next to me…" Troy started.

"I'm sitting there," Ryan interrupted, not missing a beat, giving a warm smile. "So, should we go back inside?"

"Yeah," Troy said, "I don't know how long intermission is."

The two boys went back inside and were immediately greeted by the likes of Kelsey, Gabriella, and Jason among others. Troy had more than a suspicion that all of them had been watching the two boys out on the catwalk. The group chatted until the lights flashed, signaling the end of intermission, when everyone made their way back to their seats.

Troy and Ryan arrived at their seats before Taylor and Martha did, causing a delightfully awkward moment when the girls had to cross in front of Troy and Ryan to get to their own seats.

The lights dimmed and the show started again. Troy placed his hands on his spread out knees. To Troy's shock, Ryan bluntly grabbed Troy's hand and laced their fingers. For the rest of the show, the two boys periodically clenched each other's hands and lovingly stroked the other's knuckles, while every now and then giving each other quick affectionate glances. All this while Taylor and Martha were watching with great interest, while trying to look as if they were watching the show.

At the conclusion of the show, Troy and Ryan rose from their seats to greet some of their friends in the cast. Troy didn't know what would happen next, but he would have been excited if he had.


End file.
